What does the Christmas season mean at Westminster? Busyness! Groups like the Winnipeg Singers, Winnipeg Philharmonic Choir, Manitoba Chamber Orchestra, and the Pembina Trails School Divisional choirs use our glorious sanctuary throughout the month. Not to mention the various weekly events that happen in the church. My planning happens in July or August, and means I’m living the Christmas season long before most people even think about Thanksgiving.

Two years ago, Westminster Choir and its soloists presented Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Requiem in D minor. This year the choir performs yet another classic work, Romantic composer Gabriel Fauré’s Requiem.

This Requiem is a large departure from the work of Mozart, as its music and language no longer dwell on judgment and doomsday, but rather focus on grace, hope, and peace.

The work is just over thirty minutes long, and while not as technically difficult as other pieces in the genre, is musically challenging. Pitfalls concerning phrasing, language and vocal control abound in every movement.